Banksy has shared photos of a new artwork on a derelict building - but fans won't be able to visit it as it's already been demolished. The Bristol street artist posted three pictures on his Instagram page this afternoon (March 15), which is where he officially confirms new works.
The first one showed a derelict house half covered with ivy on one side and with crumbling brickwork on the other, with the Banksy piece on one of the walls designed to look like a window. The second shot showed a close-up of the work, appearing to show the silhouette of a little boy opening a pair of corrugated iron 'curtains', with a cat also peeking into frame.
But the third photo has left some Banksy fans gutted, as it showed the wall almost completely demolished with a digger and a pile of rubble next to it, with the artwork nowhere to be seen. The fenced-off property, which Bristol Live understands to be near Herne Bay in Kent, could be seen with a skip and a worker in a hard hat and high-vis, looking towards the pile of bricks.
Read more: Banksy artwork seized by police in criminal investigation
Text in the right hand corner of the photo read: "Morning is broken." Images uploaded to Banksy's official website are also captioned 'morning is broken', usually suggesting that's the name of the piece.
It's not clear if the demolition was part of Banksy's plan or if the diggers moved in anyway without realising, although the picture of the aftermath might suggest the former. One Instagram follower wrote beneath the post: "Beautiful as always. But why keep taking them all down.
"They done that work where I'm from. Let us enjoy his work."
Another added: "Do you think if they had known it was your painting they wouldn't have broken it down."" Why are people demolishing it? So sad!" exclaimed a third.
However, someone else disagreed: "Some reason it makes me happy that they just smashed it."
Banksy did not disclose the location but some eagle-eyed fans noted the Dover phone number on the side of the skip. A Google Lens search directs people to a very similar-looking property on a derelict farm near Herne Bay, which was the subject of local news reports on its planned demolition in December.
The pictures show the same or very similar roof tiles to the right and graffiti-covered white wall. One person, responding to another fan asking for the location on Instagram, also referenced Herne Bay, while others said Dover. Another said they had seen comments on a local Facebook page about the painting, but no one had clocked the link to Banksy.
Bristol Live confirmed with skip company Ovenden that the skip's location was indeed the derelict farm near Herne Bay, but they said their only involvement was to provide the bin, and they were not aware Banksy had visited the site. The person Bristol Live spoke to was bemused at the interest the piece has attracted but added that "all publicity is good publicity".
Read next:
- Banksy confirmed to be in Ukraine after street artwork speculation
- World reacts as Banksy artwork appears in war-torn Ukraine
- The most ridiculous theories about who Banksy is
- Banksy responds to speculation as Stockwood residents spot new framed artwork
- Banksy claims Reading Prison art with Bob Ross video
